The Apu Trilogy Satyajit Ray and the Making of an Epic

by Robinson, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9781848855151
• ISBN10: 184885515X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-11-15
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Summary

"I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing 'Pather Panchali'", noted Akira Kurosawa. Satyajit Ray's three films about the boyhood, adolescence and manhood of Apu, 'Pather Panchali' (1955), 'Aparajito' (1956) and 'The World of Apu' (1959) - collectively known as The Apu Trilogy - are established classics of world cinema. The Trilogy was the chief reason for Satyajit Ray's receiving a Hollywood Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1992, just before his death. This book by Ray's biographer and world authority Andrew Robinson is the first full study of the Trilogy. Robinson - who came to know the director well during the last decade of his career - covers the literary and cultural background to the films, their production, their music composed by Ravi Shankar, their aesthetic value, and their complex critical reception in the East and the West, from 1955 up to the present day. Extensively and beautifully illustrated and a pleasure to read, 'The Apu Trilogy' will appeal to anyone captivated by the unique world created by Satyajit Ray.

Author Biography

Andrew Robinson is the author of Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye and Satyajit Ray: A Vision of Cinema'(both I.B.Tauris), and he is the editor of three screenplays by Satyajit Ray.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements * List of Illustrations * Self-taught Film-maker: Satyajit Ray’s Formative Years * Apu in Fiction and Film: Adapting the Novels Pather Panchali and Aparajito * An Epic in Production: Making the Apu Trilogy * Working with Ravi Shankar: The Music of the Apu Trilogy * Pather Panchali: Critique * Aparajito: Critique * The World of Apu: Critique * From Calcutta to Cannes: The Reception of the Apu Trilogy * Apu in East and West: The Trilogy and Ray Today * Appendix: Ray Talks about the Apu Trilogy * References * Films Directed by Satyajit Ray * Select Bibliography * Index